Organisers

The conference is organised by the EU Intereg North Sea partners in the SalFar project, in particular by the Waddenacademie in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands.

Building a community

Research underway along the North Sea countries and elsewhere in the world illustrates the vast and so far underrated potential of growing food on soils generally qualified as saline. Food production on present and future saline soils deserves the world’s attention in particular because 1) food security is a pressing issue, 2) millions of hectares of degraded soils are available world-wide, 3) fresh water is becoming increasingly scarce, and 4) global sea level rise threatens food production in fertile coastal lowlands.

Capitalizing on the vast potential of saline agriculture requires a major interdisciplinary and collaborative research effort to inform effective and supportive policy frameworks and to evaluate the most promising methods for developing saline agriculture in different regions of the globe. The conference intends to build on the conclusions of earlier conferences, such as FAO’s Global Forum on Salinization and Climate Change, Salinity Forum and ICBA’s International Workshop on Climate Change and Soil Salinity Dynamics.

Themes

Presentations, papers and posters will be invited on the following themes:

Saline agriculture as a way to adapt to climate change and sea level rise

Fresh water management in potentially saline soils

Revitalization of saline degraded lands

Economics and financing of saline farming and products

Microbiology of soils and plants

Innovation and practical experience at farm level

Experiments and promising crops

Regional policies, politics and governance on salinization

Awareness raising and capacity building for saline farming

Other related research topics can be added.

During this scientific conference and field visits of test fields at Texel, Terschelling, Emden and possibly additional sites along the North Sea coast we aim to underpin and better utilize the potential of saline agriculture. Research, field tests and market development are crucial in this phase.

Poster Competition

During the Saline Futures Conference, students and researchers who attend the conference can present their work to a broad audience including academics and business professionals. You are invited to take part in a poster competition, present your work and win a prize! Ten winners will receive a price of 500 EUR, travel grants and certificates of attendance.

Interested?

Please register via our website. In the upcoming months, we will keep you updated on the programme, keynote speakers, excursions and logistics.